Ryan Poles turned the NFL draft on its head when he traded the 1st overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for a massive package of assets. It includes a future 1st round pick and wide receiver D.J. Moore. Most experts believe the Chicago Bears GM did a tremendous job engineering that deal. Now discussions have shifted to who Poles might consider taking with the 9th pick. Where it gets crazy is a growing suspicion that the Bears GM might not be done moving down. Rumors already surfaced shortly after the trade took place.
Now former Bears scout Greg Gabriel is fanning those flames. Remember, he has strong connections throughout the league. He’s also met with Poles personally and has a good idea of what the Bears GM seeks to accomplish. He explained on the Barroom Network that the threat of another trade down is very real. It isn’t only because he’d like to accumulate more picks, either. There is a belief, one Gabriel shares, that the true strength of this draft class lies between picks 20 and 40.
Ryan Poles may want picks in that range.
Right now, they have none. There is a massive gap between their 9th overall pick and the next one at 54th overall. They have zero selections between 20 and 40. So if Poles wants to get some, he may have to move down again. Gabriel makes it seem like he’s open to continue moving down until he’s in the 20s range. That would be absolutely wild. Nobody has ever traded down from the 1st overall spot in the draft to outside the top 15. Then again, Poles has made it clear he has no fear when it comes to doing things differently.
If he sees no discernable difference between the talent at #9 and #20, then it makes sense to move down. The question will be whether he can find somebody willing to trade with him. The quarterbacks will almost certainly be gone by that point. Maybe teams will be hoping to come up for cornerback helps, especially with Philadelphia right behind them at 10th overall. Ryan Poles may have to work to find takers. If nothing materializes, he likely has a good idea of who he’ll take at 9th overall.
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Based on what I have seen from Poles/Eberflus they put a ton of weight into measurables and less weight into the “eye ball test”. Roquan Smith is a great example. He was 6’1″ and not considered a “good fit” to play WLB in this defense so they traded him away. They replaced him with Tremaine Edmunds who is 6’5″ this free agency period. Is that an upgrade? We will have to wait and see. The Bears also trade their 2nd round pick to the Steelers for Chase Claypool. 6’4″ wide receiver who has never passed the “eye ball test” on… Read more »
Poles is slick. AND, he has a lot of draft capital in the middle rounds. He certainly isn’t going to ignore that. So, he sure could!
Unless they want Jaxson Smith-Njigba
Low key, I would be ecstatic if Poles pulled a rabbit out of his hat and draft Bijan Robinson. I don’t think it will happen but damn that offense would look sexy.
Pacm, maybe it’s just how bad of trade it was in 2021 to get Fields but I feel like Poles can get more than just the 20th and 37th pick from Seattle. In that trade the Bears jumped from 20 to 11 and gave up in addition a 5th rounder that year and then a 2022 1st and 4th. That was to move 9 spots. Seattle would be jumping 11 spots. I would definitely be seeking those two picks as well as maybe a 2024 1st or maybe a 2nd. That or just talking about this really shows you how… Read more »